It Just Has To Be Delicious

Archive for November, 2015

O-Sushi is a nice restaurant with both a kaiten sushi train and pavement tables. There are heaters for chilly evenings, and the overall vibe is trendy and comfortable.

We chose a table on the pavement and ordered from the tapas style part of the menu. There are also options for ordering traditional sushi and sashimi and also individual complete meals and noodles.

We chose the steamed gyoza, which come with a dipping sauce – we poured our dipping sauce over the dumplings and they were succulent and delicious.

Prawn and vegetable gyoza

We also chose one of the ‘specials’ the sake marinated duck spring rolls. They were nice but needed a bit of seasoning. They came with a thick sweet soy sauce, but could have benefited from some chilli or onion.

Sake marinated duck spring rolls

Our meal included chicken teriyaki skewers which were tasty, succulent and nicely seasoned.

Chicken Teriyaki

Another dish was tuna rice paper rolls where the tuna took the place of the rice paper as a wrap around carrot, noodles, lettuce and cucumber. This was accompanied by nice hot wasabe, spring onions and tobiko (roe).

Tuna rice paper rolls

I enjoyed my meal at O-Sushi and would definitely return. I wouldn’t choose the duck spring rolls again, but everything else was really nice. The staff were very friendly too.

Jade is a restaurant that I have been to twice before. I like it because it serves first class Chinese food and has a variety of good value, good quality set menus. Even though the menus say minimum 2 persons, the restaurant often allow you to choose different options even if there are only two of you dining.

The setting is within the grand Fullerton Hotel, a colonial, classic and beautiful building. The restaurant is stylish and sophisticated.

We chose the Nostalgic Flavours menu which was delicious throughout.

The three starters were Poached Fragrant Turmeric Chicken – subtle and tasty, Crispy Prawn coated with Chocolate Mayonnaise and Oatmeal – quirky but it worked, and Crispy Roast Pork Belly – classic and well executed.

The next course was Spicy and Sour White Pepper Seafood soup – lovely rich flavours that worked well together with a slice of silken tofu on top.

Next came Steamed Chilean Seabass served on a lotus leaf. For me this was the star of the menu, beautifully cooked and very satisfying.

This was followed by Stewed Pork Ribs in Honey and Fermented Bean Sauce, beautiful ribs that fell away from the bone, tender meat and excellent flavour.

This was followed by Wok Fried 5 grain rice with Roasted Duck, Kailan and XO Chilli Sauce. Unfortunately my photo failed, but this dish was a fitting and tasty end to the savoury courses.

Our dessert was Shaved Coffee flavoured Coconut Ice with Caramel Jelly and Honey and Avocado puree. A wonderful and not overly sweet finish where the flavours danced on my tongue.

What a nice well-rounded meal at Jade. This place is always a Singapore favourite and one that I will visit again and again.

Midsummer House is a 2 Michelin Star restaurant right by the river on Midsummer Common in the heart of Cambridge. I first visited in 2005 and had the most amazing meal. Ten years later I was interested to see if the standard was the same.

The restaurant has Daniel Clifford as it’s head chef and he certainly puts his heart and soul into every dish. The staff know every aspect of every dish and they are quirky and entertaining, adding jokes and theatre to make the diner feel both relaxed and special.

We were treated to 4 canapes – each one exquisite in its own right and accompanied by a glass of bubbles from the champagne trolley. The staff also mentioned my dairy intolerance and adapted the dishes so that cream and butter were kept to a minimum.

Canapes included an ash roasted beetroot marshmallow with dried yoghurt crisps, a potato souffle (like a crisp potato shell) with a sour cream and lime jelly, a canneloni stood in a dish of cardamom seeds with a compote of duck and cardamom cream, a Bloody Mary foam with a celery sorbet and a piece of lamb shoulder in a crispy tempura batter with mint mayonnaise.

We chose the seven course degustation and the first of the courses was smoked haddock, a crisp potato shell, pickled onion and caviar. This was a beautiful combination of smoky, sour and salty with no accent being overpowering.

Second course was Celeriac baked on open coals which one of the chefs brought to the table and carved open, scooping out the tender celeriac flesh and dressing the dish with two types of hollandaise – one at room temperature and one frozen with liquid nitrogen, hazelnut, celery and wood sorrel.

Item three was a roast quail with a tempura smoked quail’s egg, shallot puree, grapes, celery and sourdough crouton.

Then came the star of the menu. The signature sauteed scallop with Granny Smith, celeriac and truffle puree. The scallop was amazingly soft and delicately flavoured and an absolute treat.

The fifth and final main course was a roast glazed duck breast, with canneloni, fig, dill and fennel puree. All elements of this dish worked really well and I loved every mouthful.

The pre-dessert was aerated lychee, mango and lime. A tropical treat for the senses.

The main dessert was a Marquise of blackberry and pear with a delicate and sublime pastis crisp. This dessert had the real wow factor.

This was followed by beignets with cream and chocolate

And a few chocolates from the chocolate trolley (yes they have a chocolate trolley).

I chose a sage chocolate and a dark passion fruit chocolate.

We also chose a bottle of Meltwater Sauvignon Blanc which had a perfect gooseberry and pinapple bouquet.

Midsummer House is a place to book for a special occasion and every course will delight you and awaken your senses – yes I could not fault the venue, the amazingly knowledgeable and entertaining staff and the exquisite presentation. Three Michelin stars is on the horizon for this beautiful establishment.